CHAPTER 221: CHAPTER 218: CAN’T LET THE INGRATE TAKE ADVANTAGE!

Liang Zhi said, "I estimate that it wasn’t Xu Yin’s people who attacked Zhang Shicheng that night."

Although Fu Zhen had a theory, he still asked, "Why do you say that?"

"Firstly, the attackers used clubs. If Xu Yin really wanted to attack him, this wouldn’t be his method, right? And do you know why the conflict between Zhang Shicheng and He Qunying is getting deeper?"

Liang Zhi cleared his throat and continued, "Some time ago, Zhang Shicheng recently took a new concubine. On the night of the incident, he went out following the instigation of this concubine. Moreover, the route that day was suggested to him by the concubine, and it was on that route that he ran into trouble.

"Zhang Damazi hasn’t noticed anything wrong. We inquired about the background of the concubine and followed the trail from the Zhang Family, discovering that the concubine’s mother in her family had established a close bond with a maid from Yongping Prefecture!"

Fu Zhen had heard about Zhang Damazi’s danger from Mrs. Zhang, but she still paused upon hearing the end: "Do you mean that the concubine is connected to Yongping?"

"No, that maid used to be someone close to Princess Rong." Liang Zhi looked at her deeply. "Do you think Xu Yin would use someone from Prince Rong’s Mansion to do such a thing? So, it should have been Princess Rong who acted."

Of course, Xu Yin wouldn’t use someone from Prince Rong’s Mansion for this.

Based on the current evidence, Xu Yin is still maintaining a façade of loyalty in front of those from Prince Rong’s Mansion. How could he use someone from Princess Rong to harm Mrs. Zhang’s brother?

Moreover, as I said before, if he wanted to act, he wouldn’t need to be so roundabout.

"So, it’s actually Princess Rong behind the scenes exacerbating the conflict between Zhang Shicheng and He Qunying. Moreover, the fact that Zhang Damazi bullied He Qunying’s concubine was instigated by this new concubine.

"Of course, this is just what Zhang Damazi himself said, but now he’s so infatuated with this concubine that he hasn’t suspected her at all."

Given Zhang Shicheng’s brain, it’s not surprising he didn’t realize it.

This guy is adept at dealing with shady affairs, but when it comes to women throwing themselves at him, he loses his composure. He hasn’t changed all these years.

Fu Zhen pondered for a while before saying, "I also guessed it was Princess Rong. So earlier, when Mrs. Zhang tried to coerce me, I directly confronted her with it. She likely picked up on it too, so I’ll just let her cause a fuss next.

"Now, as for the He family, since He Qunying hasn’t gone mad holding on to Zhang Damazi, we need to quickly figure out a way for He Qunying’s father to see Xu Yin’s true nature.

"The only one who can stop He Qunying’s interactions with Xu Yin is his father, He Huan."

Xu Yin gave He Qunying such a big favor, how could Fu Zhen be at ease about it?

Now He Huan controls the three regiments of the Capital Camp, and if the He family fully sides with Xu Yin, it would be a big problem.

She needs to swiftly eliminate this hidden threat, not letting the opportunist take advantage of the He family in front of Liang Ning!

But obviously, this is difficult...

Cheng Chili said, "Nowadays, the He family doesn’t interact much with us. He Huan definitely hasn’t had any dealings with my father or Uncle Pei. At most, a few of their family members might occasionally meet up, but nothing deep.

"And Xu Yin, as a high official in the court favored by His Majesty, it’s impossible to convince them that someone surnamed Xu has ulterior motives."

Who wouldn’t agree?

If it weren’t so tricky, why would Fu Zhen have delayed dealing with it until today?

She looked up and took a deep breath, just in time to see Guo Song pacing back and forth under the porch, and called him over: "Do you have some matters?"

Guo Song nodded: "Replying to Young Madam, the master has returned."

Fu Zhen said "Oh," and then recalled that her "father-in-law" had gone to demand justice for her by dismantling someone’s door. Now that he had returned victorious, shouldn’t she hurry to show some deference and offer him some tea?

She then told Liang Zhi and the others to sit tight while she quickly got up.

Guo Song, however, caught up with her: "No rush, Young Madam. As soon as the master came back, he went straight to find the madam. Right now, the madam is giving the master some tea."

Oh.

Then she really was unnecessary.

Fu Zhen changed her direction and asked, "Do you know what happened when the master went?"

"There’s something I need to report to Young Madam," Guo Song said, cupping his fist. "The master smashed a hole in the wall of the Prince Manor and returned. Prince Rong was hopping mad—"

"He really smashed it?" Cheng Chili was surprised.

Liang Zhi gave him a pat: "Don’t interrupt!" He then asked, "So what next? Did Uncle Pei rebuke him for poor parenting?"

"Certainly not!" Guo Song said, "The master punched a hole through the wall. Someone somehow reported this to the palace. It’s getting warmer in spring, and His Majesty’s health has greatly improved, right? I heard he was inspecting Prince Hui’s lessons with the empress in the imperial garden, and upon receiving the report, he immediately summoned Prince Rong to the palace.

"By now, Prince Rong should have entered the Meridian Gate."

The few people present exchanged glances, and Fu Zhen said, "The emperor hasn’t summoned us?"

"Not yet," Guo Song stepped forward and said, "Prince Rong’s Mansion is quite lively now. After the master left, it’s said that Princess Rong was angry enough to go after the princely heir’s wife. No one saw if they fought, but the wife’s people invited Zhang’s father over on the spot.

"Later, Princess Yongping also sent someone to invite Vice Minister Xu, but Vice Minister Xu was home. Someone saw him return to the mansion after court, but he didn’t go."

"After that, Prince Rong entered the palace, leaving Princess Rong and Princess Yongping to deal with the Zhang family’s father and daughter.

"I suspect it was quite intense because even their grandson was taken outside to play by someone."

Fu Zhen listened, puzzled: "With such a great chance to earn face, why didn’t Xu Yin go?"

Guo Song shook his head: "I don’t know."

This kind of insider information, being an outsider, he naturally wouldn’t know, and getting this much information was already quite impressive.

So Fu Zhen didn’t ask further.

Just as she was about to ask him to go to the palace gate to inquire about Prince Rong, he added, "Although I don’t know why Vice Minister Xu didn’t go, I did hear something. It was said that previously Princess Yongping wanted to remove the Imperial Physician from Zhe Yu’s side because Vice Minister Xu was jealous, blaming Princess Yongping for being too close to Zhe Yu."

"Jealous?" Fu Zhen found this to be the most amusing joke she had ever heard. "How could someone full of aspirations and schemes be jealous because of Yongping?

"To him, all women in the world fall into two categories: those beneficial to him and those not beneficial. Did Yongping actually believe that?"

Guo Song nodded: "She did believe it. That day, they seemed to have a fight, and then Princess Yongping immediately had the Imperial Physician dismissed."

Fu Zhen was puzzled: "How did you come across this information? Is it reliable?"

Guo Song thought for a moment, "I think it’s reliable. Because it was Doctor Lin, who treated Zhe Yu’s injury, who said it himself.

"Doctor Lin, who was driven away by Princess Yongping’s people last time, was sent to the Prince Manor today by the emperor to treat the princely heir after hearing the news. But Doctor Lin wasn’t too keen on this errand, and while dawdling outside the Prince Manor, he grumbled with no one around, and I overheard it.

"He said that these royal relatives have nothing better to do all day long, summoning him back and forth just because of jealousy, and even a messenger boy could boss him around, which made him resentful!"